# Printing Press Operators

US SOC code 51-5112. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/51-5112

Also called: Press operator, Offset press operator, Digital press operator, Inkjet press operator, Flexographic press operator.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **144,260** US printing press operators, with median pay of **$45,780** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **151,450**, in May 2023, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [a Census count](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/occupations/occupations-part-3.pdf) of **129,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for printing press operators: Computer-to-plate and digital presses, 1995 to 2015. CtP combined with web-to-print automation sharply raised output per operator in commercial printing.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 8.7% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-5112&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **12.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Printing Press Operators employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1814
- Latest US employment: 144,260 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $45,780 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [10]
- Outlook: -8.7% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [24]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 73401)
  - Employment, 2020: 14,300. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [8]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 73401 Printing press operators, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$52,800. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [13]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 73401 Printing press operators, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 21 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1899 | n/a | $624 | BLS historical bulletin 1928 [9] |
| 1900 | 129,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1900 [1] |
| 1964 | 280,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia [2] |
| 1985 | 320,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS [3] |
| 2000 | 270,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS TED [4] |
| 2010 | 191,130 | $33,680 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 179,220 | $34,290 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 173,010 | $34,690 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 166,620 | $34,920 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 166,750 | $35,100 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 168,330 | $35,240 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 169,910 | $35,530 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 171,130 | $35,760 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 173,470 | $36,220 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 173,430 | $36,910 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 160,270 | $37,880 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 145,290 | $37,770 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 150,010 | $39,350 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 151,450 | $41,860 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 145,110 | $45,160 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 144,260 | $45,780 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (72)

### Employment series

1. [US Census Bureau — "Occupations at the Twelfth and Preceding Censuses" (1900 comparison tables, printing trades)](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/occupations/occupations-part-3.pdf), Bureau of the Census
2. [Wikipedia — International Typographical Union (peak membership 121,858 in 1964; IPPAU pressmen context)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Typographical_Union), Wikipedia (secondary: ITU organizational records)
3. [BLS — "Forty Years of Falling Manufacturing Employment" (printing and publishing CES trends through the 1980s)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-9/forty-years-of-falling-manufacturing-employment.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. [BLS TED — "Employment trends in newspaper publishing and other media, 1990-2016" (industry context for year-2000 peak)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/employment-trends-in-newspaper-publishing-and-other-media-1990-2016.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
8. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

9. [BLS Bulletin No. 604, "History of Wages in the United States from Colonial Times to 1928" (pressmen, printing trades)](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/history-wages-united-states-colonial-times-1928-4126/fulltext), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
10. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
11. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

14. [HistoryOfInformation.com — "John Walter Secretly Prints The Times on a Steam-Driven Koenig Cylinder Press" (November 29, 1814)](https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=4613), History of Information
15. [Age of Revolution — "Koenig and Bauer's steam powered printing press" (1814 cylinder press history)](https://web.archive.org/web/20260219045017/https://ageofrevolution.org/200-object/koenigs-steam-powered-printing-press/), Age of Revolution
16. [Library of Congress Headlines & Heroes — "The Linotype: The Machine that Revolutionized Movable Type" (Mergenthaler 1886)](https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2022/06/the-linotype-the-machine-that-revolutionized-movable-type/), Library of Congress
17. [Wikipedia — International Typographical Union (ITU membership peak 121,858 in 1964)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Typographical_Union), Wikipedia
18. [InPlant Impressions — "Offset's Rough Road to Prominence" (offset vs letterpress historical timeline)](https://www.inplantimpressions.com/article/offsets-rough-road-to-prominence-13997/), InPlant Impressions
19. [Computer History Museum Revolution — "Desktop Publishing" (PageMaker 1985 launch, PostScript history)](https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/306), Computer History Museum
20. [Prepressure.com — "The history of DTP and prepress" (timeline 1982-2012)](https://www.prepressure.com/prepress/history), Prepressure.com
21. [BLS — "Employment trends in newspaper publishing and other media, 1990-2016" (industry employment 1.9 million peak in 2000)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/employment-trends-in-newspaper-publishing-and-other-media-1990-2016.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
22. [Heidelberg — Artificial Intelligence on the Speedmaster (Intellistart 3, Inpress Control 4, AI Assistants)](https://www.heidelberg.com/global/en/print_and_packaging/products/offset_printing/topics_1/artificial_intelligence/artificial_intelligence.jsp), Heidelberg
23. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 51-5112 Printing Press Operators (2024-34 projections, -8.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-5112&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

24. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 51-5112 Printing press operators (2025: 144.0 thousand; 2035: 131.4 thousand; -8.7%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=51-5112&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
25. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 51-5112.00, human-rated β 0.125)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

26. [HistoryOfInformation.com — "John Walter Secretly Prints The Times on a Steam-Driven Koenig Cylinder Press" (November 29, 1814)](https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=4613), History of Information
27. [Wikipedia — International Typographical Union (IPPAU founding October 1889 as pressmen's breakaway union)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Typographical_Union), Wikipedia
28. [InPlant Impressions — "Offset's Rough Road to Prominence" (letterpress to offset transition, 1960s-1980s)](https://www.inplantimpressions.com/article/offsets-rough-road-to-prominence-13997/), InPlant Impressions
29. [Computer History Museum Revolution — "Desktop Publishing" (PageMaker 1985 introduction)](https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/personal-computers/17/306), Computer History Museum
30. [BLS TED — "Employment trends in newspaper publishing and other media, 1990-2016" (1.9 million peak in August 2000)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/employment-trends-in-newspaper-publishing-and-other-media-1990-2016.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
31. [Prepressure.com — "The history of DTP and prepress" (2011 milestone: graphic design employment exceeds commercial printing)](https://www.prepressure.com/prepress/history), Prepressure.com

### Predecessors & successors

32. [Age of Revolution — "Koenig and Bauer's steam powered printing press" (transition from hand-pressmen to industrial operators, 1814)](https://web.archive.org/web/20260219045017/https://ageofrevolution.org/200-object/koenigs-steam-powered-printing-press/), Age of Revolution
33. [InPlant Impressions — "Offset's Rough Road to Prominence" (letterpress machinists retraining in offset, 1960s-1980s)](https://www.inplantimpressions.com/article/offsets-rough-road-to-prominence-13997/), InPlant Impressions

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET OnLine 30.3 — Printing Press Operators (51-5112.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-5112.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [My Next Move — Printing Press Operators job outlook](https://www.mynextmove.org/profile/summary/51-5112.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS Industries with employment decreases 2000-2024 (newspaper publishing -79%)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/industries-with-employment-decreases-from-2000-to-2024.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Rochester Software Associates — 2026 Print Production Trends](https://www.rocsoft.com/blogs/in-plant-insights/2026-print-production-trends-technology-and-market-shifts/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Heidelberg — AI and the Speedmaster (Wash Assistant, Powder Assistant)](https://www.heidelberg.com/global/en/print_and_packaging/products/offset_printing/topics_1/artificial_intelligence/artificial_intelligence.jsp), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Heidelberg — Prinect Inpress Control 4 AI color management](https://www.heidelberg.com/global/en/print_and_packaging/products/offset_printing/press_control_systems/color_and_quality_measurement/inpress_control_2/product_information_122/prinect_inpress_control.jsp), accessed 2026-06-05
- [WhatTheyThink — Heidelberg AI Color Measurement Systems (2022)](https://whattheythink.com/news/109949-power-color-new-color-measurement-systems-heidelberg-boost-automation-harness-artificial-intelligence/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Heidelberg — Prinect Touch Free AI-driven workflow (drupa 2024, pilot customers 2026)](https://www.heidelberg.com/global/en/about_heidelberg/press_relations/press_release/press_release_details/press_release_258304.jsp), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.